Sydney Burns Foundation to develop living replacement skin for burns survivors

From the spray-on variety to the small sheets of laboratory-grown skin used in burns treatment, the quest to recreate the body's largest organ has made big strides in the 20th century.

But research being carried out by the Sydney Burns Foundation is advancing towards the holy grail of burns surgery - the development of a living, fully functioning, full-thickness, three-dimensional replacement skin.

"Burns injury is one of the most severe and disabling traumas a person can sustain," said Professor Peter Maitz (pictured on home page), recently appointed to Australia's first chair in Burn Injury and Reconstructive Surgery at Sydney Medical School.

"While modern burn and intensive care treatment has saved many lives, there is still a widening gap between achieving survival and real quality of life after a severe burn injury."

The Sydney Burns Foundation was established in 2009 by Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney in collaboration with the highly regarded Concord Hospital Burns Unit. The aim of the Foundation is to raise funds in support of research, education and scholarship in the field of burns medicine and reconstructive surgery.

These funds will enable scientists at Concord Hospital's Skin Laboratory to intensify its research into tissue engineering cell culture and bio-chemistry including bio scaffolds. The Sydney Burns Foundation's ultimate goal is to produce full-thickness, living skin, which can be transplanted to burns survivors.